


rising up out of the dirt

by orphan_account



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Multi, i’m giving A-RISE the development they deserve, the title is dumb but i worked hard on this so i’m hoping ppl read it ahaha…
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 05:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15066305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tsubasa’s only three years old when she meets Yuuki Anju. She's charmed immediately.…Crying in a bathroom while late to class usually indicates loss and despair. But Tsubasa was crying now, and she couldn't be happier.(A-RISE throughout the years)





	rising up out of the dirt

Tsubasa’s only three years old when she meets Yuuki Anju. She's charmed immediately. Anju asks if she wants to play tag. Tsubasa hasn't learned how to speak yet, but she knows what the words mean so she pushes Anju’s shoulder and runs. Behind her, she can hear the other girl laughing. It was such a lovely sound that Tsubasa almost didn't wanna run away. 

 

At five years old, she's invited to Anju’s birthday party. It's the first fancy event she's gone to. Her mom fusses over her dress, the bow in her hair, worrying they aren't good enough. Tsubasa can speak now, even read, but she's too young to understand money.  _ Why are you worried, Mama? I know Anju will think I'm pretty,  _ she had said. 

 

Her mother had just sighed and smiled. _ You're right, of course she will.  _ They both know Anju has a big heart. 

 

The party is extravagant and full of life, just like Anju herself. Tsubasa steps through the doors and is immediately greeted by her best friend.  _ Tsuba-chan, you look so pretty! _ Anju shows Tsubasa every nook and cranny in the mansion so they can play hide and seek. Soon they got bored of that, yelling  _ ollie ollie oxenfree!  _ to each other and laughing. 

 

Then they dance. Tsubasa trips over her own feet, but Anju helps her up every time. She falls forward, and Anju catches her. She pulls Tsubasa into a hug.  _ I'm so glad to have a friend like you, Tsuba-chan.  _

 

When she's eight, she learns about sadness. Anju points to the other side of the playground, concerned.  _ Tsuba-chan, why is that girl crying _ ?

 

_ I don't know, Anju, _ she replies, looking over at the girl in question. She's rather tall, with long hair, and her lilac dress is all smudged with dirt. The two girls walk over to her and ask if she wants to play catch. She looks up at them, shocked. 

 

_ …Are you here to make fun of me? _ were the first words out of her mouth. 

 

Anju shakes her head.  _ Of course not! Was someone making fun of you?  _

 

The girl nods and points to a mole on her cheek.  _ They said… they said I'd never achieve my dreams with this…  _

 

_ That's not very nice of them,  _ Anju says. She looks angry. Tsubasa’s never seen that before. 

 

_ Let's be friends!  _ Tsubasa says. 

 

The girl nods slowly.  _ Okay, I'll be your friend. I'm Toudou Erena.  _ They play catch until sunset. 

 

The three of them are inseparable at age twelve, and Tsubasa invites her friends over to her house.  _ Sorry, guys, it's really dirty… We, um, aren't the richest… _

 

_ It's fine, Tsuba-chan! Don't worry, I'm not as much of an aristocrat as I seem. _

 

Tsubasa’s mom makes them chocolate chip cookies, and they take a plate of them back to her room. 

 

_ I like the ceiling colour, _ Erena mumbles through a cookie. 

 

Anju doesn't say anything. Erena must've seen Tsubasa look worried, because she elbows her. 

 

_ Oh! Sorry, I zoned out!  _ Anju laughs. It's just as melodic as the day they met.  _ Your room is lovely! It suits you. _

 

The three friends crawl onto Tsubasa’s bed, and Anju ends up directly in front of her. They're looking into each other's eyes now, and Tsubasa can't help but think that purple suits her. 

 

Anju smiles warmly. Tsubasa smiles back, wondering why her heart was beating so fast. 

 

Tsubasa’s fourteen when she confesses to Anju. They had just started an idol group with Erena, and the popularity made her more self-confident. 

 

_ I don't know what to say, Tsuba-chan. Erena confessed to me earlier…  _ Anju sighed and fluttered her eyelids as she said this. And that was when Tsubasa knew she'd lost.  _ You're a really great friend.  _

 

It wasn't an acceptance. But it wasn't a straight up rejection either, and that made it so much worse. 

 

After the initial shock of Anju and Erena dating, Tsubasa becomes closer to the two of them as ever. It wasn't a competition, it never was. She was happy, certainly. She couldn't think of two people better for each other than her best friends. But that crush on Anju never went away, and to make matters worse, Tsubasa was also falling for Erena more and more every day. 

 

Her heart finally burst at seventeen. Her two best friends and crushes for the past few years were so in love, so hopelessly fallen for each other. Put simply, she felt left out. She loved them more than anything, and neither of them seemed to return her feelings. 

 

Anju and Erena find her in the bathroom, crying her eyes out. They stay with her as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. 

 

_ Tsuba-chan, are you okay?  _ Anju’s worried voice calls out. She peers under the door, and makes eye contact. Tsubasa can see the pain in them, but she doesn't speak. 

 

_ You might be late to class, Tsubasa, _ Erena says, bluntly. A little too bluntly, but Tsubasa also knows Erena’s just like that. 

 

She almost feels like laughing. She was in no state to go to class right now. 

 

Anju knocks on the stall door.  _ Tsu-- _

 

_ Why don't you two just ignore me like always? You have each other! _ Tsubasa screams. But they both shake their heads. 

 

Erena crawls under the door and unlocks the bathroom stall from inside. Tsubasa was both a little impressed that she was flexible enough to do that and extremely honoured that Erena would get her uniform dirty for her. 

 

Anju swings open the door. She sits down on the ground, level with Tsubasa.  _ I'm not going to leave. You're one of the two most important people in my life.  _

 

Tsubasa leans her head against Anju’s shoulder and sighs.  _ Wrong. I'm the second most important person.  _

 

_ Tsuba-chan…  _ Anju mumbles. Emotion got the better of her, Tsubasa supposed, because she starts tearing up too. 

 

Erena manages to put into words what Anju can't.  _ Yes, we have each other. But we need you as well. You aren't second most important, because all three of us are equally important. We wouldn't be A-RISE without you.  _

 

Tsubasa looks up at Erena, and all she sees are those teal eyes looking lovingly at her. 

 

_ Tsuba-chan _ , Anju whispers.  _ I love you. Both of us, we-- _ Tsubasa cuts her off with a kiss. It's soft and warm, like she'd imagined it to be. 

 

Their lips part, and guilt comes crashing down on Tsubasa.  _ I'm sorry-- I shouldn't--  _ She chokes up. 

 

Erena leans down and kisses Tsubasa’s forehead.  _ I know we both interact more with Anju than each other, but I still care about you so, so much. You're more important than you realize.  _

 

Tsubasa closes her eyes and smiles.  _ Thank you. I love you both.  _

  
Crying in a bathroom while late to class usually indicates loss and despair. But Tsubasa was crying now, and she couldn't be happier. 


End file.
